Education Now Overcoming Financial Barriers to Higher Ed Exploring the impact FAFSA's troubled rollout has on higher ed Posted September 26, 2024 By News editor College Access and Success Education Finances Education Policy Higher Education Leadership The redesigned Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form was supposed to streamline the process of filing for financial aid. Instead, during its troubled rollout this past year, prospective and current college students faced delays, ongoing technical glitches, and aid miscalculations. Now, with further FAFSA holdups on the horizon, we explore how to ease the financial burden of paying for college. Guests:Susan Dynarski, Patricia Albjerg Graham Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of EducationKevin Fudge, Higher Education Finance Executive and consultant Jacqueline Moreno, Chief Service Officer, Illinois Student Assistance CommissionHost:Francesca Purcell, Senior Lecturer on Education, Co-Chair, Higher Education Concentration, Harvard Graduate School of Education Key Takeaways FAFSA is essential to the higher education system and proper resources must be devoted to making it functional for students.Use trusted resources to help navigate FAFSA, not message boards and questionable sources.Schools should devote time to helping students apply for FAFSA properly so students don't fall through the cracks. Resources HGSE's FAFSA Series Tips for Navigating Financial Aid - Usable Knowledge What We Can Learn from the Flawed FAFSA Rollout - Usable Knowledge Navigating the Challenges of the 2024-25 FAFSA - NCAN.org The Long-Awaited FAFSA Autopsy Is Here - Inside Higher Ed Education Now A webinar and newsletter series to shape new approaches to challenges in education Explore All Articles Related Articles Education Now Making College Attainable What higher education institutions and policymakers can do to open the doors and put more students on the path to college and a degree Usable Knowledge Tips for Navigating Financial Aid The first in our series on how students, families, and colleges can find their way through the government’s “FAFSA Fiasco” News Can School Counselors Help Students with "FAFSA Fiasco"? Support for low-income prospective college students and their families more crucial than ever during troubled federal financial aid rollout